Dog owners invited to check out new off-leash dog park

Park would be near 84th Avenue and 183rd Street, north of the Metra railroad tracks

September 26, 2012|By Dennis Sullivan | Special to the Tribune

Anticipating a groundbreaking within eight weeks for an off-leash dog park on Tinley Park's south side, Tinley Park Park District commissioners are inviting owners of the potential users to attend a Tuesday evening meeting at McCarthy Park.

Spokesman Matt Libs said park district representatives also would share preliminary plans for the five-acre circular facility with attendees at the 7 to 8 p.m. gathering at the Performing Arts Center, 16801 S. 80th Ave.

Libs said the facility would be located near the intersection of 84th Avenue and 183rd Street, north of the Metra railroad tracks and buffered on one side by wetlands.

Current plans call for the park to have three sections, with the largest serving large dogs, and the smallest serving small dogs. The third, covering one to two acres, would act as an alternative play area when one of the two regular sections undergoes maintenance, he said.

Grass and trees would be planted in all of the sections, and the large-dog section would contain agility equipment.

Deputy Village Clerk Laura Godette answered a demand-related question, saying "689 dog licenses have been sold so far this year," she added, "I bet there are a lot more than 689 dogs in Tinley Park."

At the June park district board meeting, commissioners agreed to pay $1,870 for preliminary designs. In September, commissioners discussed placing a cover over the middle area to provide each section with partial shade.

Libs said the district might also institute a double-gate system to prevent escapes while a dog is being retrieved from the park, and a shelter area near the entrance with benches for dog owners. The shelter would have a drinking fountain, with a lower spigot for dogs, he said.

But Libs stressed that "no design is set in stone," and that current plans are "very, very preliminary."

Libs said soliciting dog owners' opinions during planning is part of district's philosophy.

He noted parents of special-needs children strongly influenced the design of McCarthy Park's playground for the physically disabled, which opened in May.

"We want the people using a facility to be involved," he said.

Anticipating a November groundbreaking, Libs said the district wants to get to work on the new park "before the ground starts freezing."

That would put the completion date 11 months after commissioners, responding to residents' requests, included the dog-park idea in the park district's $2.7 million capital improvement plan.

Commissioners initially budgeted $225,000, but Libs said the amount could change after the design is approved and bids are let in October.